Arkansas Divorce
Each state has residency requirements for filing for divorce in that
state. Arkansas has these certain residency requirements but they can
be different from other states. A court will not accept a divorce case
if the needed residency requirements are not met. A case can also be
dismissed if the divorce case has been filed to the wrong jurisdiction.
Depending on the place of residency and each specific situation,
individuals are to file for divorce in different courts. Arkansas
residency requirements state that at lease one of the individuals needs
to be an Arkansas state resident for a minimum of sixty days before a
case can be filed. Arkansas also states that there must be a mandatory
waiting period of three months before a divorce case can be finalized.
Divorce cases are to be filed in the resident's county. When the
individual filing for divorce is not a resident of Arkansas but the
other spouse is, the case will be filed in the county court of the
other spouse. Under these circumstances the case may be switched to
another county due to non-resident proceedings.
Filing Grounds in Arkansas
When a divorce is brought to the court, the grounds for which the
divorce shall be based are required. The individuals will need to come
to an agreement on which grounds their divorce is to be based or those
for which the individual filing for divorce will stand to prove to the
circuit court. Arkansas has different sections for the grounds that are
lawful to be filed under.
The first section of divorcing grounds is called no-fault grounds.
Under this section those involved in the divorce case must have not
lived in the same residence or must have been physically separated for
a minimum of eighteen months without break. By law the court has the
right to petition divorce of absolute decree to one or both individuals
depending on if the separation was a mutual decision or due to one
individual's fault.
The second grounds section for which a divorce is to be filed is called
fault grounds. These grounds will name one individual as responsible
for the dissolve of the marriage. Fault grounds include addiction for
alcohol for a minimum of one year; current and previous impotency of
one individual; cruel treatment towards the other individual that may
endanger life; convictions of a serious offense or a felony offense;
committing adultery while espoused; and specific indignities that names
the marriage as intolerable.
Divorce Basics
A certain kind of language is used in court that is not usually used
elsewhere. Titles are given and terms used that can confusing. The
individual who is filing for divorce in a domestic relations or family
law court is called the plaintiff. The individual who did not file for
divorce and was later served by the court is called the defendant. The
document that is initially filed through the court is called the
Complaint for Divorce and the Decree of Divorce. These documents can
contain as much as twenty different forms to be processed.